LoliRock Takes New York
by Akela Victoire
Summary: LoliRock's been noticed by Karina LaRue, one of America's biggest stars, who invites them to come perform at the opening of her concert tour in New York City. Trouble isn't far behind however when Mephisto and Praxina show up and an Oracle Gem reveals itself...
1. Chapter 1

_Decided to write and release this as a birthday present for myself. I grew to like LoliRock ever since it was first released and this is only the first fic of many that I hope to write for this fandom._

* * *

As the three members of the band stepped off the plane at LaGuardia airport, with Aunt Helen behind and Amaru held tightly in Auriana's clutches, they took in their new surroundings in complete fascination.

"Ooh! New York City! I've always wanted to come here! See the sights, hear the sounds..." Auriana said excitedly, looking very much as if she wanted to run off at that very moment.

"...eat the food too, right?" Tailia questioned.

"But of course, Talia! How could I ever forget about the food? I wanna try a New York style hot dog. Oh, oh! How about the pizza? I l _ove_ pizza!" Auriana gushed.

"Not as much as smoothies, right?" Iris giggled.

"You bet!"

The man who stood at the bottom of the stairs- a tan-skinned man with dark hair and wearing a dark grey suit greeted them enthusiastically. "Welcome, welcome, welcome to New York City, LoliRock! My name is Charlie Wilson and I'm going to be your driver for your stay here in New York!" he tipped an imaginary hat to them.

"My, my. I never imagined you'd get to perform opening one of Karina LaRue shows, Iris. You've loved her work for a long time! And well, here you are!" Helen put an arm around the blonde teen.

"Me either! This is going to be so great! I always loved her shows and concerts as a kid and the movies she did and now I actually get to be a part of all that!" Iris squealed.

"Karina LaRue. A childhood star. Played in several movies including the award-winning _Mountain of Dreams_ as the main character Regina Jackson and voiced the main villainess Mariana in a recent animated movie called _The Fairy Cove_ that is currently up for several nominations. She started a singing career when she was sixteen and has already won three Grammy awards by the age of twenty-three. Impressive career..." Talia raised an eyebrow as she double-checked the information on her PDA.

" Indeed it is, Miss Talia. Now, shall we get going? Your limousine awaits you..." Charlie gestured to the limousine after he opened the door and ensured all his passengers were inside and comfortable, before going to take his own seat and drive them to their destination.

"I could get used to this!" Iris said as she kicked off her shoes and flopped into the single bed, sinking into the soft sheets slightly.

"You said it! I love New York already and I haven't even been here for a full day yet!" Auriana jumped up and down in her own bed rather enthusiastically, until she ended up flipping over a little too far and landing on the carpeted ground with a soft thud.

Iris giggled at Auriana's disgruntled expression.

"I wouldn't mind going around and seeing the sights myself. I hear that New York has many different museums that we can learn about Earth culture from. And the city itself is very diverse. People from all over this planet live in this one city!" Talia thumbed through a tourist guidebook casually as she sat on the edge of her own bed.

"I've always wanted to come here and now I get to come to NYC with some good friends AND perform with them! Alongside one of my favourite singers ever!" Iris squealed.

Amaru curled up in one corner of the floor, seemingly not as excited as the girls were about being here.

Just then, the phone ring and Iris reached for it.

"Hello?" Iris asked.

 _"Good afternoon. Is this Iris Rennard? The voice sounds like it..."_ A melodious sounding female voice with a slight Southern accent issued from the receiver.

"Who's asking?" Iris raised an eyebrow.

 _"I'm Karina LaRue, the same singer you're going to be performing with soon? You've never actually spoken to me before since my agents handled everything and I suppose I sound a bit different over the phone..."_ the voice chuckled.

Iris squealed in excitement. "Girls, girls! Karina... Karina's on the phone!" she squeaked.

"Put it on speakerphone then and let us join in the conversation!" Auriana leapt across her own bed, snatched the receiver from Iris and set the phone to speakerphone mode.

"HI KARINA!" Auriana shouted.

 _"Enthusiastic, aren't we?"_ Karina chuckled. _"I'll be glad to meet you too and I'm glad to have you opening up my_ _ **Treasure Trove**_ _tour. I would actually like to meet you before the concert, obviously. Have you already made any NYC plans for tonight?"_

"No we haven't. What did you have in mind?" Talia asked, much calmer than either Iris or Auriana was being.

 _"Dinner at my penthouse. It's probably about half an hour's drive away from your hotel- if you're lucky and New York traffic decides to be merciful with you..."_ Karina said.

"We'd love to come! What time should we be ready for?" Iris asked, recovering herself.

 _"How about you come over for six? I know that's rather early, but I think you might want to enjoy some sights tomorrow and this gives us enough time to eat some good food together and get to know one another a bit, so you can get back in time to get some good rest. Despite the claims that New York is the city that never sleeps, we all still need a good rest..."_

"We'll be there." Iris confirmed.

 _"Wonderful. I look forward to meeting you. See you at six!"_ Karina hung up.

Iris looked at the other two girls. "This is all so exciting! I think this is the second best day of my life!" she exclaimed.

"Second best?" Auriana raised an eyebrow. "What's the first best day then?"

"The day that I met you two and discovered my powers and my past, of course. Mephisto and Praxina threw a bit of a shadow over it at first, but it really picked up in the end!" Iris smiled.

"Darn right it did!" Auriana cheered. "Now, let's go pick out our outfits to wear to meet Karina! I brought so many of them with me!"

"I think you might have brought all of them with you..." Talia noted wryly as Auriana rummaged through her luggage, sending random clothing items flying through the air.

"She's right though. We need to get ready!" Iris jumped off her own bed and went towards her own suitcase to look for an outfit to wear.


	2. Chapter 2

The three LoliRock girls, dressed up very nicely, stood in the hallway of a rather luxurious looking building, in front of a door, and looking at one another.

"What are you waiting for? Ring the bell, Iris!" Talia nudged her gently towards it.

Iris pressed the bell once and it was barely a minute before the door was swung open.

A girl around their age with olive brown skin, brown eyes behind black and purple striped oval glasses, and black hair in a low ponytail opened the door, smiling broadly.

" _Hi LoliRock!_ My sister will be with you soon. She's just on the phone doing a bit of business. Come on in!" the girl spoke cheerfully and waved them in.

"Your sister's penthouse is lovely, _er..._ " Iris said, looking around at the New York City skyline and admiring it, before realising that she didn't remember the other girl's name.

"Oh! My name's Kirsten. Kirsten LaRue, at your service! I'm such a big fan of yours! It's such a dream to finally get to meet you!" the girl gushed.

"You're a fan of us? With a sister like Karina?" Auriana raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, she is. From the time she heard your first song. In fact, Kirsty here is the one who introduced your music to me!"

The voice that Iris remembered as Karina's from the phone spoke from somewhere on her left.

The Ephidian princess had to stop herself from squealing in excitement when a tall woman in about her early to mid twenties with slightly darker skin than Kirsten's, brown eyes and curly black hair pulled into a bun with a few curls left loose framing her face exited a nearby doorway and made her way over to them.

"Hello, ladies of LoliRock. Karina LaRue here, at your service." the young woman smiled and offered her hand for a handshake.

The three LoliRock girls took turns shaking it and general platitudes were exchanged before she led them over to some sofas to sit.

"Well, well, well. LoliRock in NYC at last. I know you've not seen much of it yet, but what do you think so far?" Karina asked them.

"It looks so cool! I can't wait to go exploring!" Auriana gushed.

"Maybe my sister can show you around a bit. People know that I have a little sister yes, but Kirsten isn't as recognised, so she won't draw extra attention to you. Granted, you'll draw your own attention, but hey. It can't be helped..." Karina shrugged.

"It's summer in NYC so there's lots of cool things we can do! There are some free concerts you can check out, museums, Broadway plays, shopping, restaurants... Whatever you wanna do, it's right here in this city!" Kirsten paused. "If you want to do it with me, of course..."

"We won't mind going with you," Talia said warmly. "I'm sure you'll show us a great time!"

"Yay!" Kirsten beamed. "I'm gonna make sure you three have a really fun time, trust me. I already planned on enjoying myself with what I could of Karina's tour before school starts back, but this is going to make it better!"

"One would almost think she didn't love me as much ever since she discovered your music..." Karina chuckled amusedly.

"Never, big sis! I'm just so excited!" Kirsten exclaimed.

"Normally, she isn't this excited at all. She can be rather shy and reserved at times. I like your music and all, but I don't know what it is about you three that does this to her..." Karina eyed Kirsten before standing up.

"Anyway, Kirsty and I made dinner. Well, Kirsty took care of most of the dinner stuff and I pretty much took care of dessert. Either way, there's good food here that's waiting to be eaten, so let's go eat!" Karina moved out of the room and motioned for everyone else to follow her.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the middle of Central park, two flashes of light appeared- one dark green and one dark red and with them, Mephisto and Praxina.

"So this is one of the biggest Earthling cities, eh?" Mephisto asked, looking around. "It doesn't look like much of a city to me. All I see are trees..."

"Look up, idiot!" Praxina slapped around the head with one hand and gestured over the treetops with the other, indicating the tops of skyscrapers and other buildings and even a helicopter as it flew above. "Listen too! It sounds really busy out there!"

"Okay, okay! So I didn't notice all that at first! Sheesh!" Mehpisto grumbled. "We didn't come here to sightsee anyway. We came here to find that Oracle Gem! We know it's in this city _somewhere!_ "

"And we're going to find it!" Praxina vowed and the two disappeared again.

* * *

"That was pretty nice!" Auriana exclaimed as the young women all relaxed after dinner in the living room.

"Yes, yes it was..." Karina looked thoughtful. "Look. I know that I invited you three here to open for my concert, but I believe that I may have an as of yet unreleased song that might be perfect for us to sing together..."

" _Wait._ Not only do we get to open for you, but we might actually get to record a song with you too?!" Iris asked excitedly.

" _Possibly,_ if I can get my manager to agree to it. I've mentioned it before to her. You see, my little sister here is a budding songwriter. She can't sing to save her soul-"

 _"Hey!"_

The LoliRock girls giggled at Kirsten's objection and her annoyed expression.

"-but I think she has a way with words. We'll be meeting at _Starcraft Studios_ tomorrow afternoon and if we can impress the _lovely_ Danika Montridge, we can use that song as a way of rounding out your set and introducing mine. It will be great!" Karina looked enthusiastic about the idea.

"You'll actually use one of _my_ songs? In your concert? On your album? With LoliRock?" Kirsten looked as if she was in a state of disbelief.

"Yep! You wrote the lyrics and my band did the music. All that would be left to do is fit parts of the song to me, Iris, Talia and Auriana." Karina shrugged.

"It sounds like a wonderful idea!" Talia exclaimed.

"Yes. Yes, I am known for having wonderful ideas." Karina joked. "Now," the superstar glanced at a clock on a nearby wall. "I believe it's time you be getting back to your hotel. You'll need a lot of rest if you want to do anything in the morning and then be ready for meeting with my people and your rehearsal at Starcraft..."

Auriana jumped up. "You're right, Karina! Come on, girls! Our ride should be here anytime soon!"

Just then, the telephone rang and Karina answered it.

" _Uh-huh._ I see... Fine. I will let them know. Bye, Charlie!" Karina hung up. "Your ride's here. I guess I'll be seeing you three tomorrow at two PM at Starcraft Studios!"

"Good-bye, Karina. It really has been nice meeting you. I look forward to tomorrow. We all do." Talia smiled warmly.

"As do I." Karina smiled back. "Now get going before Charlie comes up here for you himself!" She waved them off good-naturedly.

* * *

As Iris, Auriana and Talia sat together in the back of the limousine, they talked.

"Whoa, Karina LaRue is actually pretty nice!" Auriana exclaimed.

"And her sister's pretty friendly too!" Talia added.

"I guess that just means it'll be a great experience working with Karina then. I know a lot of stars out there are snobs, but to realise that one of my favourites _is actually so sweet in person!_ " Stars practically shone in Iris' eyes as she spoke.

"And of course we're here in New York and we'll have time to explore it between rehearsals! I want to go to Times Square tomorrow. I wanna go shopping. I wanna try some real New York pizza!" Auriana said.

"We won't have time to do all that tomorrow, Auriana..." Talia pointed out reasonably.

 _"Just watch me."_ Auriana vowed.

Iris and Talia could only roll their eyes as they listened to all of Auriana's plans.


	3. Chapter 3

_Today is six years since I've been on the site, so have a chapter to celebrate!_

* * *

"Pleased to meet you ladies. My name is Danika Montridge, Karina's manager. You may call me Danika though. Or Dani- that's my nickname around these parts. I do hope she's not poisoned your minds to me so much..." a middle-aged woman with pixie-cut hair smiled at the LoliRock girls as they entered a meeting room.

Already present were Karina and a few other people from Starcraft Studios.

"Nope. Not at all!"Auriana exclaimed cheerfully.

"Great. Now, let's get down to business, shall we?" She invited them to sit and they did so.

"We want you to be the opening act for Karina's Treasure Trove tour, at least for the concerts here in New York City. We'll work with you if you'd like to come up with some choreography suitable for our sets and stage, but we'd need a set of songs from you that lasts for at least half an hour." Danika said.

"I've thought about that already. Here's a list..." Talia rummaged into her bag and pulled out a light blue plastic folder.

Flicking it open, she pulled out a few sheets of paper and slid them across to Danika, who, upon inspecting them briefly, passed some of them around the table to the others present.

"You came prepared, didn't you?" One man asked. "I like it!"

"That's Talia for you. She's the serious one of the bunch. Always prepared!" Iris chuckled.

"Good trait to have in this business. Always come prepared. People appreciate you more that way..." another woman commented.

"That's all well and good, but does this set fly with everyone here? I like it! Although if you could just make _Higher_ your last song instead and we could transition into my set with that other song I proposed..." Karina spoke up.

"If you can come up with some lyric assignment that works, then I do believe it could work. You don't need elaborate choreography for this one. Just move around to the beat!" Danika exclaimed.

"Works for me!" Karina shrugged.

"So we actually get to sing together with you?" Iris asked.

Karina looked around the table at the other people and they all nodded. "It looks that way! When we're done here, I'll get those lyrics for you and we can try a thing in one of the studios to get familiar with it. Plus Kirsten will be stopping by later and she'd keelhaul me if she missed this..."

Everyone in the room burst out laughing.

"Alrighty then. Let's get moving." Karina stood up. "The first concert is in just two weeks and we need to be ready! Come on and I'll give you the grand tour. Besides the recording studios, there's also some auditoriums of sorts that you could rehearse your routines in. And the fun stuff like some of the lounges and restaurants in this place..."

* * *

"You girls sound so great with my sister! You'll make my song a hit!" Kirsten squealed as LoliRock and Karina left the recording booth and returned to the control area, where she, Danika and a few others were waiting.

"I think you'll be ready to spring it on the masses at that first concert with a little more rehearsals!" Danika nodded approvingly.

"Well, feel free to run loose in the city now. We're done for the day!" Karina waved at them as they left.

"If you still want to hang out with me, I know a few cool museums and stores and stuff we could go look at before you go back to your hotel..." Kirsten looked hopeful.

"We'd love to!" Auriana exclaimed. "Where do we go first?"

"The centre of all New York City that everybody has to see when they get here: Times Square!" Kirsten exclaimed. "There's lots of good restaurants and stores around there and other cool stuff to check out!"

"Then lead us to Times Square, Kirsten!" Talia gestured for Kristen to lead the way.

A few minutes walking and a subway ride (during which they were miraculously not recognised), they emerged from the 42nd Street Times Square station and took in the sight of all the tall, shiny buildings around them, as well as the signs and the changing screens that they bore.

 _"This is so cool!"_ Auriana exclaimed.

"It's not bad." Iris agreed. "So, where do we go to first?"

"What would you like to do first? Eat, shop or explore?" Kirsten asked.

"Let's explore a bit first and get something to eat. Will that be okay?" Talia asked.

"Sure! Come with me! There's a few free museums around here that are pretty interesting. One of the Fashion Institutes around here is putting on a display too with fashion through the ages. Would you like to go see it?" Kirsten suggested.

 _"It would be fun for you to learn how Earthling fashion has evolved over the years..."_ Iris whispered to the other two.

 _"I quite agree. Let's go there first!"_ Talia whispered.

* * *

The day went smoothly as the four teenage girls traversed New York City.

They went to the Fashion Through The Ages at one of New York's top fashion design institutes, ate at a restaurant on a balcony with a great view of the city and generally having a good time.

They were recognised by a few people and although some actually wanted to talk to Kirsten, most wanted to talk to, get autographs from and pictures with LoliRock.

"I had so much fun with you three!" Kirsten exclaimed. "I don't always have fun days like this..."

"Why? How could you not have this much fun and you _live_ here?!" Auriana exclaimed.

"I _don't_ live here, Auriana. Not anymore. I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where our family is from. Karina and I were both born there, but the parentals moved away with us when I was two and she was nine when she hit the big time. As soon as she hit eighteen and she was old enough to be on her own, the parentals moved right back there with me..." Kirsten explained.

 _"Oh."_ Auriana said. "Then where are they? Your parents?"

"Oh, they're back in Baton Rouge. They let me come up here to hang out with my sister for a bit. I'll actually be able to tag along on her tour while she's in the U.S. for a bit, but then I have to get back to Louisiana when school starts and after that, she's gonna be leaving the country anyway..." Kirsten shrugged.

"So... where do we go from here now, Kirsten?" Iris asked.

"You could always come hang out in Karina's penthouse for a bit before you go back to your hotel..." Kirsten offered.

"Sounds like a plan. Lead the way." Talia said.

As they walked a little way behind Kirsten, the LoliRock girls began to talk.

"It's been nice here so far. Lots of fun and lots of excitement- and best of all, no Mephisto and Praxina!" Auriana exclaimed.

"Don't jinx it now, Auriana. I'd rather not see their evil faces here while we're enjoying ourselves. All that fun we've had so far would immediately be ruined..." Iris scowled at the thought.

They entered the building and made their way up to the penthouse.

"Hey. You wanna see something cool?" Kirsten asked. "I went to a store this morning and I got this really pretty necklace. It's not particularly flashy or anything, but I love it!"

"Go ahead! I like pretty necklaces too!" Auriana exclaimed.

Kirsten disappeared into another room for a few moments.

"I don't know how we'd balance all of this with fighting off those tw-"

Iris felt it before she saw it.

And judging by how Talia and Auriana were suddenly sitting up straighter, they apparently felt it too.

"Look. Isn't it pretty?" Kirsten gushed as she showed off the black cord necklace with a silver teardrop shaped pendant.

A pendant with an Oracle Gem embedded in it.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Happy Holidays, my dear readers!_**

* * *

 _"Well, uh..."_ Iris started before Talia cut in.

"It's a gorgeous necklace, Kirsten. Beautiful, even..." Talia complimented the unsuspecting girl smoothly.

"I know, right? I don't often treat myself to jewellery. My treats are usually restricted to new notebooks, pens, novels and ice-cream, but I couldn't help it! It was almost as if it was calling to me!" Kirsten gushed.

"I can totally imagine!" Auriana exclaimed.

"So... enough about my pretty pendant. Big sis has a _huge_ collection of movies here. And when I say huge, I mean HUGE! HUMONGOUS! Probably take us a year to make it through all of them if we tried!" Kirsten exclaimed.

"Too bad we don't have time for all of those!" Iris commented.

"Eh... it's fine. Come on! We can watch at least one before you have to go back to your hotel!" Kirsten directed them to the living room area while she went into another room and retrieved a large stack of DVDs, which teetered precariously in her arms.

"Here's a _small sample_ of the movies available," she grunted as she dropped the stack onto the coffee table.

Auriana was the first of the three singers to reach it.

"Ooh! Let's watch this one! It looks exciting!" the redhead held up a case that displayed a dark-skinned woman with flowing, black braids riding atop a dragon, amongst a sea of flames, while holding tightly to a sword.

"Great choice, Auriana!" Kirsten beamed.

Karina's younger sister put the DVD on and they all began to watch, though throughout the movie, Iris, Auriana and Talia couldn't help but glance at the Oracle Gem dangling around Kirsten's neck.

* * *

"So, Kirsten's found an Oracle Gem for us. The problem is... how do we get it away from her?" Talia asked as the three girls sat together in their hotel room that night, dressed in their pyjamas.

"Right! We can't just take it from her and if we ask for it, she's obviously going to want to know why..." Iris said.

"And that place of hers... her sister's really... would be _crawling_ with security and cameras all over the place!" Auriana hugged Amaru when he hopped up into her lap and rubbed behind his ears lightly. "If we could just get her to lose it temporarily, it'd be easy for us to create a replacement Gem and make a switch!"

"We just have to create a situation that she'll have to part from the necklace then." Talia suggested.

"There's a dance rehearsal tomorrow. Maybe we could take advantage of that. It'll be a bit of a hassle with everything else going on, but we could probably pull it off..." Iris suggested.

"Kirsten's not _in_ the concert though. Why would she have to be a part of the dance rehearsal then?" Talia pointed out.

The three girls sighed frustratedly in unison.

"We'll find a way, girls. No worries." Iris reassured them. "We _always_ do!"

Auriana yawned and stretched, accidentally causing Amaru to fall from her lap with a thud and a loud objection from the creature, which the Voltan princess ignored.

"I think it's time we get some rest. We've got a lot to do tomorrow- including trying to solve this Oracle Gem dilemma..." Talia yawned as well, though her yawn wasn't as exaggerated as Auriana's.

Iris yawned and got out of the chair she'd been sitting in backwards and stumbled into her own bed.

Talia was right.

They could deal with it tomorrow.

* * *

"And that's it for today!" Karina threw her hands up into the air in relief as she finished her final dance move.

She walked to the front of the stage of the concert hall and knelt down, reaching for a face towel and a bottle of water from one of the many assistants darting around the place.

Taking a long swig from the bottle, then dabbing her face, she turned to Iris, Auriana and Talia.

"So, how did it feel for you? Are you tired as much as I am?" she asked them.

" _No way!_ I'm not tired at all!" Auriana exclaimed, looking indeed as if she hadn't been rehearsing for a concert for several hours with very few breaks in between.

"Before you ask," Talia looked between Auriana and a stunned looking Karina. "yes. Auirana is _always_ like this. We don't know how she does it either..." Talia shrugged.

Karina blinked, then chuckled. "Ever watched _Country Witch, City Witch?_ Where I played Victoria Mitchell and Amy Dupree played Rebecca Barnes, the two main characters?"

Talia, Auriana and Iris nodded, the latter having showed the other two episodes of the Urban Fantasy television series that had ended a few years ago.

"Becky was a rather perky character and Amy played her _perfectly_ because she was _just like that_ in real life. Practically bouncing around the set. You just reminded me of that, Auriana. Haven't seen Amy in person in ages though. She is in town. I ought to see if she can make any of my NYC concert dates..."

"I'd love to meet her too!" Auriana exclaimed.

"Perhaps you will. It's a bit up in the air right now, but _maybe_ she'll be able to come, after all." Karina said.

"Enough of this! You all _stink!_ " Karina's lead choreographer, a man with rather... _flamboyant_ mannerisms, wearing an aquamarine tracksuit made a few exaggerated gestures to demonstrate his point, eliciting laughter from them all. "Go and take some showers before you all kill my sense of smell!"

"Christopher _does_ have a point..." Iris agreed.

"Let's go back to the hotel and relax a while. Maybe we could go out for dinner a little while afterwards!" Talia suggested.

 _"I want pizza!"_ Auriana exclaimed.

"Glad to see you all enjoying the nightlife and New York City in general," Karina smiled. "I hope it provides for good memories..."

"It has, Karina. _It has..._ " Auriana's tone became somewhat dreamy.

 _"Right..."_ the superstar raised an eyebrow.

"We should probably get going now..." Iris put her hands on Talia's and Auriana's shoulders.

"So should I. I promised to go to some swanky gala charity thing this evening, so I really should go home and get some rest for a bit before I get ready..." Karina sighed. "Kirsten should be fine alone there. The building has good security, there's plenty of food and entertainment options for her..."

Even though Karina seemed to be trying to reassuring herself that her sister would be fine, she still looked uncertain. "Mama and Daddy will be callin' to check on her later as well, but _still..._ "

"I'm sure that your sister will be fine, Karina. Like you said, she'll have everything she needs there, right?" Iris tried reassuring her.

"Y'all are right, Kirsten will be fine. She always is. I don't know what I'm frettin' about..."

Iris, Auriana and Talia all noticed that her Southern accent became slightly more pronounced when she seemed somewhat stressed/worried about something.

"Where is she anyway? I didn't see her around at all today..." Talia wondered.

"She wanted to go and do some reading and writing at the library today, so that's where she was all day. She also said she'd come back home and do a bit of paddlin' in the building's pool too..." Karina shrugged.

"I don't mind going to see her again!" Auriana exclaimed.

"Really?" Karina asked. "You really don't have to. I invited y'all up here to come and sing with me, not hang out with Kirsten and be her friend..."

"We really don't mind it, Karina. Kirsten seems really sweet and fun to hang out with!" Iris exclaimed.

"Normally, she isn't this social and friendly though. She's usually more shy and reserved..." Karina looked thoughtful for a moment. "Why don't y'all call her later then and see if she'd like to hang out with you a bit? Here's her cell number and the landline. I know you don't have them..."

She called out for a pen and notepad and an assistant immediately handed them to her.

After writing down the information and handing it over, she smiled at the three teen girls.

"Y'all are really sweet. I genuinely like you and it's been a pleasure working with you so far. I'm sure we'll put on a fabulous performance next week." she said.

"Aww, thanks Karina!" Auriana gushed. "It's been so much fun being here and working with you too!"

 _"Karina!"_ Danika called out from across the stage. "You need to leave now if you want to arrive at the Ruby Gala refreshed and looking fantastic as you always do!"

"That's my cue. See you!" Karina waved as she jogged off.

"Right. Let's get back to the hotel and freshen up ourselves before we go and check on Kirsten and the Oracle Gem." Talia said.

"Great idea. Let's go!" Auriana pumped the air with her fist.

* * *

 _"Mephisto! Praxina!"_

Gramorr spoke to the evil twins as they crouched in an alley, his image projected above a rock.

 _"I hope for your own sakes that you have good news to report!"_ he growled menacingly.

"Oh yes sir, your evilness sir!" Mephisto saluted.

Praxina rolled her eyes and sighed at the antics of her brother.

"We have a better idea of where the Oracle Gem is in this pathetic city. It will soon be in our hands..." she chuckled.

 _"It had better be..."_ Gramorr growled, before the projection ended.

"Let's go get that Gem and get out of here..." Mephisto straightened up and brushed himself off.

"Right. I don't want to spend a minute more than I have to in this wretched place!" Praxina stood up, snapped her fingers and teleported away, Mephisto following soon afterwards.

* * *

Kirsten walked up the hallway to the elevators after leaving the building's pool and pressed the button to open one of them.

As she stepped inside, she hummed happily as she put in her floor's number.

He hair was still damp from her swim and the chlorine in the water made her skin slightly itchy so she made up her mind that the shower was the first place she was going when she got up there.

Everything seemed quiet and normal when she stepped inside.

She went into her room and casually tossed down her bag of things.

Kirsten was rifling through her drawers, looking for something else to wear when her cell phone rang.

" _Hello?_ Oh, hi Iris!" Kirsten perked up when she recognised the voice.

"Uh... sure! I'm free! Just came back up from a swim, actually. Gonna get myself cleaned up and then you can come over in about an hou- _What was that?_ " she looked towards the door when she heard two thumps on the other side.

"Oh, I thought I had heard somethi-" she stopped as she heard movement outside the door again.

 _"Am I hearing things here, or..?"_ Kirsten opened the door slightly and peeked out.

 _"That Oracle Gem is here somewhere! I can sense it! Where is it?!"_ she heard Praxina's voice snarl.

Kirsten gasped- then tried to cover up the gasp, but was unsuccessful.

She locked the door and gripped her cell phone tightly.

 _"Iris, somebody's in here that isn't supposed to be!"_ she whispered.

"Oh, _hello there..._ "

Kirsten whipped around to see Mephisto standing in her room, a smirk plastered on his face.

"We're looking for something that belongs to our Master and since _you're_ here..."

She could only get out half a scream before she was bound and gagged by tendrils of dark energy from Mephisto's spell, falling to the floor with a thud, her cell phone falling from her grasp and bouncing across the floor until it went under her bed.

"We need you to stay out of our way and not cause any trouble while we look for it. _Ta-ta!_ " Mephisto teleported out of the room, leaving a terrified and confused Kristen behind.


	5. Chapter 5

When the phone line went dead, Iris looked back at Talia and Auriana in horror, her expression mirrored on their faces.

"Mephisto is there. I think I heard him attack Kirsten!" she exclaimed.

"That must mean that Praxina is there too. They know that she had the Oracle Gem too!" Talia exclaimed.

"Well, I'm not going to let them hurt my newest friend to get it. Let's get going!" Auriana exclaimed.

 _"Auriana, Princess of Volta!"_

 _"Iris, Princess of Ephidia!"_

 _"Talia, Princess of Xeris!"_

The three princesses transformed quickly.

"Come on, Amaru! Let's go!" Auriana called out to him.

He transformed himself into his larger form and waited for the three princesses to hop onto his back.

"Hold on. New York City has a lot more people and security cameras than Sunny Bay. _Crystal Invisibilia!_ " Talia waved her hand and a blue light engulfed them all.

"Good. Now nobody will be able to see us unless we want them to." Talia explained.

Auriana and Iris nodded.

"Alright, Amaru, let's go!" Auriana, who was at the front, commanded him.

Amaru nodded, taking off through an open door that they all miraculously managed to fit through.

* * *

"Where is the damn thing?!" Mephisto exclaimed angrily as he and Praxina tore apart the apartment, looking for the Oracle Gem. It's like it's here and yet, it's not at the same time!"

"She must have it hidden. That girl you found in the other room. She must have it hidden somewhere. She'll know where it is!" Praxina snapped. "Ask her where it is!"

Mephisto went over to the door and blasted it open.

Kirsten, who was still in her prior position, let out a muffled scream and struggled to get into a position that she could back away from him.

"No use trying to get away from me, puny Earthling," he scoffed. "You have something that we want. Where is the Oracle Gem?"

He waved his hand and the bit of dark energy covering her mouth disappeared.

She whimpered and cringed.

Mephisto rolled his eyes. "You won't talk? Fine. I guess we'll just have to do things the hard way."

Raising his hand, he blasted apart her dresser, drawing a horrified scream from the teenaged girl.

"I could do that to you, you know." he spoke casually. _"Where is the Oracle Gem?"_

 _"I don't know what you're talking about!"_ Kirsten wailed.

"Stupid Earthlings, not recognising power when you see it..." Mephisto sighed. "Very well. I guess we'll have to tear this entire place apart to get it!"

 _"Crystal Offensio!"_

Waves of blue crystal came hurtling through the air, slamming Mephisto through the hole in the wall where the door used to be.

Talia leapt through the air over Kirsten and stood in a protective stance in front of her, staff bared, while Auriana and Iris leapt off Amaru's back and landed on either side of Kirsten, casting a spell together to free her from her binds, with Iris helping her to her feet.

"You okay, Kirsten?" Iris asked, looking concerned.

"I... what? Iris? Auriana?" Kirsten looked at them, taking in their magical forms. _"Talia?"_ she glanced over at the shattered doorway, where the blue-haired princess was staring down the twins. "What's going on?"

"We'll explain later. _Are you okay?_ " Auriana pressed, repeating Iris' earlier question.

"Physically yes, but I'm terrified... and _confused._ They just broke in here with magic..." Kirsten flinched at the sounds of the battle between Talia, Praxina and Mephisto, who had joined his sister. "...and said that they were looking for something called an _Oracle Gem!_ "

"We know what it is. It's the gemstone embedded in your necklace. That's what they're here for." Iris explained.

"My necklace? I just bought it yesterday! Did you... did you know?" she looked at them suspiciously.

"We did, but that doesn't matter now. We'll take care of them first, then we'll get back to you. Don't worry about it." Auriana patted her on the shoulder reassuringly.

"Just stay here and try to remain calm. You'll be safe once we get rid of them. And once we're back, we'll tell you everything," Iris reassured her.

With that, they went to assist Talia.

* * *

"We're here for the party!" Auriana exclaimed as she leapt into the fray, aiming her ribbon whip at Mephisto, who swiftly dodged it.

"About time! I thought you were going to let me have all the fun!" Talia exclaimed as she used her staff to block a blow from Praxina's own weapons.

"Why is it that when we find an Oracle Gem, you're always there too?" Mephisto looked exasperated as he fought. "I mean, seriously! We're far out from that _pathetic_ Sunny Bay place and they're _still_ here!"

 _"Hey!"_ Iris shot a blast of magic at him, which narrowly missed the top of his head since Mephisto ducked at the last minute; his eyes wide. "Don't go insulting my home here!"

Auriana glanced over at Amaru, who was standing in the doorway of Kirsten's room.

Auriana nodded at him.

"Amaru! We need the Arena! I don't know how long the spells we put on this building can hold out!" she exclaimed.

Amaru nodded back at her and summoned up his magic to transport them all to the Battle Arena.


End file.
